LT1 electric fan conversion

[jeepcoma]

I picked up a set of LT1 fans lying around, with the idea of swapping them in to replace my stock clutch fan (which is frozen solid). The Taurus fan is all the rage but prices are ridiculous and the LT1 dual fans move enough air to cool a 5.7L V8 so they shouldn't have any trouble with the 4.0.

 

I did some initial measurements and it seems like it has potential to fit, but it's going to be some work and not a direct "drop it right in" deal. I removed the stock fan and belt to see if I could squeeze the fans in from the top but the motor sticks out too far to work past the pulleys. Plenty of room to come from underneath though, but even still I might have to move the radiator forward, due to the depth of the LT1 fans. Might end up being more trouble than it's worth, but the diameter of the fans is exactly the height of the radiator so if I can get them in and modify the shroud to fit, it should cover perfectly. Maybe a summer project...

 

After removing the clutch fan, I've so far left it off and been driving with no fan. It's remarkably quiet and definitely has a bit better throttle response (granted my clutch was frozen so it's an extreme case). Even with the temps in the low 60s the other day I had no issues with overheating, even sitting in traffic (not that I'd want to for extended periods) the needle would barely creep once the thermostat fully opened, and about 5 mph was about all the airflow needed to cool it back down. Now that it's cold, passive cooling seems to be just fine, so I'm thinking I'll just leave the fan off for a while I decide whether I want to go through the effort of doing the swap, or just buy a new clutch and stick the mechanical fan back in.

[Pete M]

got a stock e-fan?

[jeepcoma]

got a stock e-fan?

 

No e-fan, and I don't think mine would have come with one (no A/C), though it's possible it was removed. There's no shroud on the mechanical fan either which I believe should be there. I'm amazed at how well it cools despite all that, so I'm confident the LT1 fans will be way overkill if I can get them in there.

[Pete M]

are they 2 speed fans? to me that seemed like the big draw of the taurus fans.

[jeepcoma]

are they 2 speed fans? to me that seemed like the big draw of the taurus fans.

 

They are dual single speed fans. I found this comparison on another site, some guy managed to bring a bunch of fans to a booth and measure the open air cfm pull (i.e. not pulling through a restriction like a radiator) of several fans. While the absolute values don't tell the whole truth, it's useful as a comparison. LT1 fan system is easily on par with the Taurus.

 

LS1 FAN SHROUD

1 fan turned on - 5100 cfm

2 fans on - 10500cfm

 

LT1 FAN SHROUD

1 fan turned on - 5200 cfm

2 fans on - 9500 cfm

 

1999 Dodge Stratus (both fans are always on - 2 speed)

Slow speed - 4200 cfm

High Speed 10400 cfm

 

1996 Ford Taurus (1 fan two speed)

Slow speed - 3200 CFM

High speed - 6000 CFM